


I Wanna Sleep Next To You (That's All I Wanna Do)

by owlaesthetic (scribblewrite)



Series: Crimson Souls [10]
Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Angst, Arguing, Cheating accusations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gang AU, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, I can't think of anymore tags, I know shocking right?, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Not Cheating, Smut, Soul Bond, actually no violence in this one, or is he...?, sick Craig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 20:23:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15517860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblewrite/pseuds/owlaesthetic
Summary: Craig's felt like shit for weeks and his and Tyler's constant arguments aren't helping.So what if he's starting to smell like an omega? It doesn't mean he's fucking cheating goddamnit!





	I Wanna Sleep Next To You (That's All I Wanna Do)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Another thing I think I forgot to mention in ABO 101, alpha’s bodies heal faster than the other two genders do. For example, a life-threatening injury would take a week to completely heal up, and say, a bullet wound clean through an arm would be healed after a day’s rest and a good night’s sleep.
> 
> Not because it’s more convenient for me to write… I swear… honestly, it’s common in ABO fics… I think.
> 
> First smut in the series and it’s not even H2OVanoss lmao. Oh well, there'll be plenty of that in future installments. It’s been a while since I’ve written smut so if it’s shit… sorry?
> 
> Title from "Talk Me Down" by Troye Sivan.
> 
> Considering the fact that no person on earth has the ability to produce slick from their ass, this is FICTION, got it? Okay.
> 
> I'm the only one who's looked over this, just let me know if you find any mistakes.

Craig just wanted to go to bed god damnit.

It’d been a rough day, starting out with needing to go through the medical room’s stock because Evan had asked him to check if they needed anything. Even though he couldn’t wait to have more equipment and a larger medical area when they eventually got a bigger base, going through stock had to be his least favorite part of his job, and he was almost happy when the door opened and he was interrupted, until he saw who had interrupted him. Bryce and Tyler had walked into the room after having come back from that deal, Tyler with a bullet wound in his shoulder.

And then while he’d started working on the wound Jonathan had just had to bring up the subject of his and Tyler’s recurring arguments. Jonathan had left quickly once Tyler had growled, which had left the two of them in an awkward silence as Craig worked on the wound. He didn’t know why he was all of a sudden smelling different, and just because his scent was sweeter didn’t mean that he was fucking an omega on the side like Tyler seemed to think he was.

Apparently, just because his scent smelled like it was fusing with an omega’s meant that he was cheating on Tyler. Which, honestly he could see why Tyler thought that, but _he wasn’t_.

After patching Tyler up and securing his arm in a sling, telling him to take it easy for the rest of the day while his body took care of the rest (god bless alpha healing, honestly), he went back to taking stock in the medical room. It had taken the rest of the day and Craig was glad to take stock as long as he needed to if it meant avoiding Tyler, because when the alpha had left the room he looked pissed off beyond belief. He didn’t see the alpha until later that night, when he walked into their apartment and found him on the sofa. Tyler glared up at him and it all went downhill from there.

They’d argued, Tyler yelling about some whore omega and Craig insisting that said “whore omega” _didn’t exist_ , and Craig had just… stormed out of the apartment. He was so fucking tired of fighting with Tyler, especially when all he wanted to do was curl up beside the alpha and sleep.

He’d intended on going to his old apartment to sleep there for the night, but as soon as the door closed behind him, he was hit by a wall of scents. And not just the muted scents that he’d been aware of as he’d walked into the apartment, but every scent he could imagine all at once. Spicy, savory, sweet, and anything and everything in between. It was overwhelming and Craig had only managed to take a couple steps away from the door before he had to lean against the wall, his nostrils burning from all the scents surrounding him and a headache blossoming, sharp and pounding behind his eyes. He shut his eyes tight and pressed his palms to his eyes, trying to block out everything around him, hoping that just doing that would make everything go back to normal. The scents would go away, he’d feel better, his scent wouldn’t be sweeter…

He hadn’t even realized that he’d sunk to the ground until he felt someone wrapping their hands around his wrists and pulling his hands away from his face. For a brief moment, he thought it might be Tyler, having sensed that something was wrong and come out to check on him, but instead, he saw Brian crouched in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Are you okay Craig?” he asked and Craig just nodded, not knowing how to explain what had just happened to him.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “Just… just a headache.” Ever so slowly, the scents dimmed around him, his nostrils stopped burning, the headache fading to a dull throb behind his eyes. Brian frowned before standing up, taking one of Craig’s hands and pulling him to his feet, his other hand hovering nearby as Craig swayed like he was going to fall back over.

“Why aren’t you in the apartment then?” Brian asked, “If you’ve got a headache you should be resting.” Craig sighed as he leant against the wall.

“Tyler and I fought again,” he said, knowing that Brian would know exactly what he was talking about as he’d complained to him about it before. Brian pursed his lips, glancing at the apartment door.

“Well, you need to go lay down or something, you’re looking pale,” he said, “I’ll go in with you and if Tyler tries anything I’ll shove his knot so far up his ass that he’ll be picking ball hairs from between his teeth for weeks.” Craig laughed softly at Brian’s threat before pushing off the wall and turning back to the apartment door, reaching for the door knob and opening the door.

It’s quiet and dark inside, the lights all turned off and Tyler nowhere to be seen, and Craig was having mixed feelings about that. On one hand, he was glad that there was no chance of another fight happening, but on the other… he was a bit disappointed that Tyler wasn’t waiting for him to make sure he was okay, wasn’t that was alphas did? Craig frowned, wondering why he was feeling so… weird.

“Looks like Tyler’s gone to bed,” Brian said, breaking the silence, “You okay getting to bed on your own?” Craig nodded.

“Yeah, thanks Brian.” The alpha in question lightly punched Craig’s forearm.

“No problem, get some rest and feel better.” Craig smiled at him before Brian left the apartment, closing the door before heading down the hallway to the bedroom.

He paused in front of the guest bedroom when he heard soft snoring coming from behind the closed door and his chest ached knowing that Tyler was so pissed off that he didn’t want to sleep beside him. He swallowed as he continued down the hallway to the master bedroom, his stomach turning with worry. They’d never fought like this before in the more than two years they’d been together and he Craig was scared that their relationship was crumbling over something he couldn’t control and didn’t know how to change.

That added on top of the ache in his chest that had blossomed at the knowledge that he wouldn’t be sleeping beside Tyler that night caused a whine to get caught in his chest and Craig reached up to his throat, his eyebrows furrowed at the sound he’d never made before trying to push its way out of his mouth. What the fuck was going on with him…?

He weakly shut the door behind him when he stepped into the bedroom, stumbling to the bed and flopping down face first onto the covers. He didn’t even bother undressing or getting under the covers, he was too tired for any of that. It’d been a long day… week… just a long month really, he just hoped that he’d start feeling better soon.

A good night’s sleep was always the first step in getting better for anything… right?

He closed his eyes and nodded off quickly, glad he hadn’t crawled under the covers as he started feeling warm.

\---

It took Tyler a second to remember why he was in the guest bedroom… until he fucking smelled a hint of it… roses and whipped cream…

He growled deeply in his chest, shucking the covers off and shuffling out of the guests room and towards the master bedroom. He knew Craig was in there before he even walked into the room, the scent growing stronger the closer he got until it hit him like a brick to the face when he opened the door. He scowled, ignoring Craig’s sleeping figure on the bed and went over to their closet, picking a shirt and pulling it on before grabbing a clean pair of jeans and pulling them on as well. He couldn't not see Craig when he walked out however, and he sighed, walking over to the sleeping beta. As pissed as he was about the whole thing… he still loved Craig. He was more pissed that he was lying to him. He knew that some relationships had an alpha, beta, and an omega, they could probably work something out if Craig would just tell him the truth…

He walked over to Craig and sighed again when he saw the state he was in, and he reached out to wake him up, if only briefly to make undressing him and tucking him in easier. As soon as their skin made contact however, Tyler knew something was wrong. Craig’s skin was hot to the touch, as if he’d been lying in the sun for hours and Craig let out a whine when Tyler’s skin touched his. Tyler recoiled his hand immediately before moving closer to the bed, reaching out once more to feel his boyfriend’s forehead and finding it just as hot as the rest of Craig’s skin. Tyler frowned, coming to the conclusion that Craig was sick, and touched Craig’s shoulder, shaking lightly to try to ease him out of sleep. He needed to make sure he got some medicine in him, at the very least drink some water.

“C’mon Craig,” he said softly, “Wake up babe.” When Craig didn’t respond, he shook his shoulder a bit harder, “You need to get up, I think you have a fever.” The longer he tried to wake Craig up, the more he began to worry, because Craig wasn’t responding. Panic rose in his chest as he practically shoved at Craig’s arm, jerking the beta enough that he nearly turned over onto his back, with no reaction.

“Craig,” he said, his panic laced voice rising, “Craig wake up!” As a last effort, he slapped at Craig’s cheeks to try and get a reaction, light enough to not hurt him but hard enough that even the deepest of sleepers would wake up.

Craig remained motionless, and Tyler’s panic spiked.

He practically sprinted out of the room and back to the guest room, where his phone was plugged in on the side table, and pulled it from its charger, bringing up the contacts and pressing Evan’s contact right away. He walked out to the hallway and paced, waiting for Evan to pick up the phone and after a few rings, he did.

“Hello-?” Evan barely got the word out before Tyler was talking over him.

“Craig isn’t waking up,” Tyler panicked, “I’ve tried everything I can think of and he’s _not fucking waking up Evan_!” There was a pause on the other end of the line and Tyler heard shuffling, like fabric moving.

“Is he breathing?” Evan’s voice was calm and Tyler found some comfort that someone was calm enough to figure out what to do. He turned mid-pace and walked back into the bedroom, going over to Craig and turned him over, not even bothering being gentle in case the movement woke him up. Tyler laid a hand on Craig’s chest and his panic diminished slightly as his hand rose and fell with Craig’s breaths.

“He is,” Tyler said, moving his hand up to Craig’s neck to check his pulse. He felt around for a bit before he found it, Craig’s pulse fast and erratic, “His heartbeat’s uneven though.” There was more movement from the other end of the call and another voice, Jonathan’s.

“Jonathan and I are coming over,” Evan said before hanging up. Tyler hung up and, not knowing what else he could do, he sat beside Craig and began moving his sweat-soaked hair out of his face. He couldn’t even be bothered to be mad at the intensifying scent surrounding him, the scent of roses and whipped cream seeping into everything as he waited in silence.

Finally, he heard the door of the apartment open and two sets of hurried footsteps came closer. The door opened and Evan rushed into the room, Jonathan on his heels. Jonathan crawled onto the bed next to Craig, his eyes wide with worry, and Evan moved beside Tyler, reaching out to feel Craig’s forehead. Tyler’s teeth clenched and he growled at Evan, his protective instincts flaring up with his boyfriend in such a vulnerable state and Evan looked Tyler in the eyes, not taking his hand back.

“I’m just trying to help, Tyler,” Evan spoke calmly, proceeding to press his palm to the beta’s forehead. After a second he flipped his hand over and pressed it back to Craig’s forehead.

“Is he okay?” Despite the business they were in and all the dangerous situations they’d been in, Tyler had never heard Jonathan sound so scared. Evan sighed.

“We should bring him in to the ER,” Evan said, “We can’t do anything here and they’ll be able to help him.” Tyler nodded as Evan moved to pick Craig up, supporting the beta behind the knees and neck, before lifting him up and all three of them hurrying out of the apartment.

The hallways were quiet as they approached the lounge, but once they entered the room and everyone saw Evan carrying Craig, a whole slew of questions were thrown at them.

“Not now!” Jonathan shouted, “We’ll let you guys know what’s going on when we know ourselves!” As they walked through the lobby, Tyler was stopped by a hand on his wrist and he turned to growl at whoever was stopping him, but stopped short when he saw that it was Smitty.

Sue him, he had a soft spot for the beta.

“What’s wrong with Craig?” Smitty asked, his face etched with worry just as everyone else’s had been.

“We don’t know yet,” Tyler said, glancing back at where the other three disappeared into the armory on their way to the garage, “I’ll text you later, okay? I gotta go.” Smitty nodded, letting go of Tyler’s wrist, and the alpha hurried to catch up to the others.

They’d walked over to Evan’s personal vehicle and Jonathan opened the door as Tyler caught up to them.

“Get into the backseat,” Evan said, and when Tyler slid into the car and buckled himself up, Evan gently passed him Craig’s unconscious form, the beta being situated in Tyler’s lap, Craig’s head resting on his chest. Tyler could feel the heat radiating from him.

“You stay here Jonathan,” Evan spoke outside the car, “Make sure the crew stays calm while we’re gone, keep them preoccupied. You and Marcel are in charge until I get back.” Jonathan nodded and jogged back inside and Evan sighed, pushing his hair out of his face and he walked around to the driver’s seat, worry over the wellbeing of his crewmate, of his friend, heavy in his chest.

Evan climbed into the car and started the vehicle, quickly backing out of the garage and speeding down the streets.

The traffic lights all conveniently changed to green as they approached them.

\---

Tyler was hunched over, his head in his hands as he and Evan waited for news on Craig. A nurse had rolled him away in a wheelchair when they had arrived and another nurse calmly explained to them that they were to wait in the waiting room while they treated Craig. Tyler was ready to growl at the nurse, not wanting to leave Craig’s side for one second, but Evan asked for the staff to keep them updated on Craig’s condition. The nurse had agreed and Evan led Tyler to a seat before the alpha’s temper boiled over.

A low growl resonated in Tyler’s chest as another wave of guilt washed over him. If he’d just slept next to Craig the night before, they might not be here. He probably would’ve noticed he was sleeping next to a fucking space heater and taken care of Craig before it had gotten this bad. For all he knew Craig could be on his deathbed and… different train of thought… different train of thought...

Tyler only lifted his head when he heard footsteps approaching them and saw a nurse walking over.

“Friends of Craig Thompson?” Evan nodded as he and Tyler stood up, “Follow me please.” The nurse waited until they were out of the waiting room and halfway down the current hallway before speaking up again, “Craig’s fever is completely normal for his current condition and it’s not putting him in any danger. We’ll keep him here for a couple days to monitor him and once he wakes up and passes some basic tests he’ll be free to go.”

“What’s going on with him?” Tyler asked, but the nurse just held up a finger as they turned the corner, walking down another hallway.

“We’ve got him hooked up to an IV to keep him hydrated and comfortable and we’re monitoring him for any changes in his condition.” The nurse came to a stop in front of a room with Craig’s name written on a piece of paper and taped to the wall beside the door, “We took some blood samples while we were trying to diagnose what was going on with him, and we noticed that his hormone levels are unbalanced. He’s a beta, correct?” Tyler nodded, unsure of where the nurse was headed with this, “Is he in a relationship with an alpha?” Tyler nodded, bewildered as to how some random nurse could have possibly guessed that, “It’s rare, but sometimes when an alpha and beta are in a relationship, the beta’s hormones start changing. Basically what Craig is going through is that he’s presenting as an omega.”

Tyler tuned out the nurse at that point. Craig was an omega now… god did he feel like an asshole. Craig hadn’t been cheating on him at all, that new scent that clung to his boyfriend, that was his changing scent.

Fuck.

“Is Craig in any danger since he’s presenting so late?” Evan asked, noticing that Tyler had zoned out of the conversation. The nurse shook their head.

“The only difference between this and an omega presenting in their teens is that his body is trying to catch up. His body is literally growing an entirely new organ system, and developing glands he didn’t have before. It’s mostly just going to be painful, which is why he wouldn’t wake up for you when you tried to get him up. His mind’s shut down for the moment to protect him.” Evan nodded and held his hand out for the nurse to shake.

“Thank you,” he said. The nurse glanced at Tyler as he shook Evan’s hand.

“Is your friend okay?” Evan nodded.

“He’s fine,” he said, “He just learned that his boyfriend’s presenting as an omega so…”

“Ah.” The nurse nodded their head before turning around and walking away, leaving the two alphas outside the presenting omega’s room. Evan snapped his fingers in front of Tyler’s face and the other snapped out of his head.

“C’mon Tyler,” Evan said, “We can go in now.” Tyler nodded and Evan pushed the door in front of them open.

Craig looked oddly peaceful in the current state he was in, despite what his body was going through, despite his body’s temperature spiking like it never had before… Tyler frowned and pulled a chair over to Craig’s bed, taking the hand that didn’t have an IV taped to it, and rubbing circles on the back of his boyfriend’s hand.

“He’ll be alright you know,” Evan said, sidling up next to him, glancing at the heart rate monitor and raising his eyebrows at the presenting omega’s internal temperature of 110°. Tyler nodded.

“I know,” he said, “I’m just regretting fighting with him over…” Tyler sighed, “I could tell his scent was changing, I thought he was cheating on me…” Evan groaned.

“Dude,” he sighed, “You should’ve known that Craig wouldn’t ever cheat on you.”

“I know,” he groaned, louder than Evan had, “I was stupid okay!?”

“Won’t argue that,” Evan muttered, still loud enough for Tyler to hear, “Listen, I’m gonna head back to the base, let everyone else in on what’s going on. At least let them know that Craig’s not gonna die. You good to stay here?” Tyler scoffed.

“You’re a fucking moron if you think I’m leaving him for one second.” Evan smiled softly.

“Alright,” he said, “Keep me updated on how he’s doing?” Tyler nodded and Evan left the room, leaving the alpha alone with his boyfriend. Tyler lifted Craig’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it, mentally going over ways he could make it up to Craig for how much of a dick he’d been.

\---

It had been a long couple days where Craig slept through everything around him. He was oblivious to the nurses coming and going from his room, the visitors from the crew, the beeping of his heart rate monitor. The one constant was Tyler sitting beside him.

The alpha’s instincts, which had been muted while Craig was a beta, were now kicking in full force to protect his omega boyfriend. He hovered over the nurses’ shoulders as they worked to take care of Craig, he was reluctant to let any of their alpha friends into the room and all but pouted in the corner of the room when Smitty visited and let said alphas visit with him. Smitty had visited the most and Tyler’s alpha instincts trusted Smitty wholeheartedly to protect Craig while he was vulnerable.

He wasn’t ready to think about what that meant. He just took advantage of the opportunity to sleep while Craig was in safe hands.

It was during one of Smitty’s visits and Tyler’s naps that the door opened and two unfamiliar scents entered the room. Tyler was roused from his sleep by the unfamiliarity and sniffed at the air before slowly recognizing the scents and the betas attached to them. Craig’s parents.

“Oh my god,” Craig mother gasped, seeing her son in the hospital bed. Tyler sat up and stretched before standing up and walking over to Craig’s parents. He’d met them a couple times during holidays and he figured he should probably play the part of good boyfriend and greet Craig’s parents.

“Hi,” he sighed, “How’re you guys doing?”

“We’re tired,” Craig’s father said, “Long flight over here. Worried about Craig as well, how’s he doing?” His head nodded towards Craig.

“He’s doing okay,” Tyler said, “He’s nearing the end of the process so he should hopefully be waking up soon.”

“What process?” Craig’s parents looked confused and Tyler furrowed his eyebrows.

“Didn’t they tell you why he was checked into the hospital?” The two betas shook their heads, “Craig’s going through a late presentation.” It took a second for recognition to wash over the betas’ faces.

“He’s presenting?” Craig’s father asked and Tyler nodded, “Alpha or omega?”

“Omega.” Tyler immediately could tell something was off when both betas’ faces fell before putting up a fake front of happiness.

“That’s wonderful,” Craig’s mother sighed and from the corner of his eye, he could see Smitty staring at them, eyebrows furrowed.

“I always suspected when he kept bringing alphas home for us to meet.” Tyler pursed his lips, trying his best not to get agitated at the betas’ words.

What was this bullshit they were trying to sell him?

He yawned, the sleepless hours catching up to him and Craig’s mother frowned at him, “You should head home and get some rest honey, you look exhausted.” As much as Tyler was growing more and more uncomfortable with leaving Craig with his parents, Smitty was there and he silently agreed. He pocketed his phone, which was on the table nearest his chair, and waved goodbye before leaving the room. The first thing he did before ordering an uber was to text Smitty to keep an eye on Craig’s parents.

\---

He exited the Uber about a block away from the base and walked the rest of the way there, trying to figure out what was going on with Craig’s parents. Something just didn’t seem right about it, and the way their faces fell…

The second he stepped foot into the lounge, he was met with several questions.

“How’s Craig doing?”

“Is he awake yet? Is that why you’re here?”

“You didn’t come back because he died, did you?” Tyler brushed off the questions.

“Later guys,” he sighed, “I’m really tired and I need to talk to Evan.”

“He’s in the meeting room,” Brian said from where he was sat on the stairs to the lounge, “Is Craig okay though?” Tyler nodded.

“As good as he could be considering,” Tyler said, “But he should be waking up soon.” Brian sighed.

“That’s good,” he said, “When you took him to the hospital… I thought I’d fucked up in leaving him alone when I saw him the night before.” Tyler smiled at him, patting him on the back as he passed.

“Couldn’t really have done anything,” Tyler said, “Just keep telling yourself that because I’m still trying to get it through my own head.” Brian nodded as Tyler jogged up the stairs and walked through the lounge to the meeting room.

Just as Brian had said, Evan was in the meeting room, Jonathan standing next to him looking over his shoulder at some documents. When Tyler walked into the room, the two glanced up at him and while Evan just smiled up at him before going back to work, Jonathan beamed up at him.

“Tyler!” he cried, running over and barrelling into him as he hugged him, “Haven’t seen you in so long!”

“It’s only been a couple days Jon.”

“So long!!” Tyler chuckled and ruffled Jonathan’s hair, prying the omega’s arms from around him before walking over to Evan.

“So,” he sighed, leaning on the table beside Evan, “Craig’s parents flew in.”

“That’s good,” Evan said, “Maybe you can finally get some more sleep than you have been?” Tyler pursed his lips.

“I don’t think I can leave him alone with them.” Evan frowned as he looked up at Tyler.

“Why not? They’re his parents, he’ll be safe with them.”

“They just reacted… weirdly to hearing that he was presenting omega,” Tyler explained, “Like they were disappointed and then they tried to act all happy about it and shit.” Evan furrowed his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

“That is odd behavior,” he said.

“Are his parents… okay with omegas?” Jonathan asked, having calmed down. Tyler shrugged.

“I don’t see why not,” he said, “From what I remember though, all of his family are betas. Not one alpha or omega.” Jonathan frowned.

“Maybe they just don’t know how to react then?” he suggested, “I say you should keep an eye on them though. If all of the family are betas, they may go overboard in trying to adjust to the change.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, because the family doesn’t have omegas in it they may not have adjusted to the modern view of omegas,” Jonathan explained, “It’s possible that all they know is the old fashioned ways where omegas couldn’t live away from parents if they were unmated.” Tyler took a second to think about what that meant.

“Do you think they might try to take him back home with them?” Jonathan shrugged.

“I hope not,” he said, “But they might.”

\---

Tyler’s vision had gone red since he’d talked to Jonathan and he didn’t want to leave Craig with his parents for a minute longer. He took a quick shower and changed clothes before going to his own car and driving back to the hospital.

As he turned the corner down to Craig’s room, he saw Smitty and Craig’s parents outside the room, Smitty biting at his thumbnail and looking through the window of the door while the other two betas were calm, sitting in chairs lining the wall.

“What’s going on?” Tyler asked, getting Smitty’s attention.

“Craig woke up and the doctors are making sure he still has ten fingers and toes,” he joked, smiling up at Tyler before getting serious again, “I don’t like how his parents were acting in there.”

“Me neither,” Tyler said, quietly so that said parents couldn’t hear him, “Did they do or say anything else?”

“They were talking about buying another plane ticket for him,” Smitty said, “They’re planning on him coming back with them.” Tyler nodded, his suspicions confirmed.

“Why didn’t any of you text me that he woke up?” he asked, directing the question more towards Craig’s parents. Craig’s father grimaced up at Tyler before speaking.

“No offense son,” he said, “But Craig’s our responsibility now.”

“What’re you talking about?” Smitty asked, turning to them, “He’s an adult and can make his own decisions, he can be responsible for himself.”

“They mean that now that he’s an omega he can’t live away from them,” Tyler said, “Isn’t that right?” Craig’s father stood up as Tyler approached him, Tyler towering over him as the beta glowered up at him.

“That’s right,” he said, “An omega’s place is at home and if they’re unmated they can’t take care of themselves. Craig needs to stay with us so we can protect him until we find a suitable alpha for him.” Tyler clenched his fists, using every ounce of self-control to not punch the beta before him.

“The fuck am I then!?” He growled.

“A phase.” Tyler opened his mouth, ready to fucking scream at them, when the door to Craig’s room opened and the doctors and nurses walked out of the room. The doctor looked at the scene unfolding in front of him.

“Is there a problem here, gentlemen?” Tyler deflated, keeping his voice calm as he answered.

“No doctor, there’s no problem,” he said, “How is he?” As much as he wanted to tear the betas apart, he’d rather not be kicked out of the hospital for assaulting his boyfriend’s parents. The doctor paused for a second longer before accepting Tyler’s answer.

“He’s doing well,” the doctor said, “It’ll be a process for him to accept, but the presentation went well and he should be discharged soon.”

“Thank you doctor,” Craig’s mother said, standing from her seat, “Would you recommend counseling to help him adjust?” As the doctor started talking to Craig’s parents about further treatment, Tyler met Smitty’s eyes, the beta motioning towards the open door. Tyler nodded minutely and took the opportunity to walk into the room, closing the door behind him.

It was a relief to see Craig sitting up in the bed, a little pale but otherwise healthy. Tyler smiled at him and closed the distance between him and the bed, ducking his head down to capture the new omega’s lips in a kiss. Craig laughed into the kiss.

“Stop Ty,” he laughed, “My breath must be rank.” Tyler rolled his eyes.

“Like I fucking care,” he said, kissing his boyfriend once more for good measure before pulling the nearest chair over to the bed and sitting down, not once letting go of Craig’s hand. Tyler’s smile faded and he sighed, “First of all, I’m so sorry babe.” Craig opened his mouth to talk but Tyler held up a finger to stop him, “I shouldn’t have accused you of cheating, I know you never would and I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Craig said, “I understand what it looked like with my scent changing.” Tyler sighed in relief that Craig forgave him so easily.

“Okay,” he sighed again, “Okay, um… we have a bit of an issue now though.” Craig’s head tilted and Tyler’s heart swelled with love for the omega in front of him. He was fucking adorable.

“What issue?”

“Your parents are outside the room,” Tyler said, spitting out the word parents with as much venom as he could put into the words, “And I don’t think they’re going to give you a choice in leaving with them.” Craig’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Why would they want me to go with them?” he asked, “I’m fine here.” Tyler pursed his lips.

“It seems as though they’re… old-fashioned,” he said, “They want to take you home with them and find a ‘suitable mate’ for you.” Craig’s face screwed up in disgust.

“You’re fucking kidding, right?” Tyler shook his head.

“I wish I was,” he said. Craig pursed his lips.

“They can’t do that though, right?” he asked, “I mean, I’m an adult, they can’t force me to go with them.” Tyler sighed.

“There are ways they can though,” he said, “With you being newly presented, you’re especially susceptible to alpha commands.” A look of horror washed over Craig’s face.

“They… but…” Craig was struggling to find words for the situation and Tyler couldn’t blame him, it was a lot to take in. He waited patiently for Craig to find his words.

“How can we fight this?” Craig finally asked, sounding defeated. Tyler pursed his lips, thinking. Immediately, a solution comes to mind and he opens his mouth to say it but he shuts his mouth before he can say anything. Craig noticed however and narrowed his eyes, “Spit it out Tyler, I don’t want to leave, I’ll consider any idea at this point.” Tyler sighed and swallowed.

“Well, their main reason for bringing you with them is because you’re unmated,” Tyler started, “If you were mated…” Craig was silent for a moment as he processed the alpha’s words.

“Are… are you asking me to bond with you?” Tyler grimaced and reached behind his head to rub the back of his neck.

“I mean… yeah, yeah I guess I am.” Craig pulls his hand out of Tyler’s and the alpha immediately backtracks, “There’s probably another way, just forget I said anything Craig…”

“No,” Craig said, “No, that’s not it just… I just presented, Tyler.” The omega ran a hand over his face, letting out a hollow laugh, “And you’re asking me to bond with you.” He meets Tyler’s gaze, “I’m just overwhelmed right now Ty.” Tyler nods and leans forward to press a kiss to the omega’s forehead.

“Think about it,” he said, “If you’re not ready, we’ll figure something else out.” Craig nodded and Tyler stood up and walked to the door, finding Craig’s father standing in the doorway as soon as he opened it. Tyler growled at him before pushing past him, leaving the building and storming towards his car.

\---

When Tyler stepped into the base he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he opened up the text Craig had just sent him.

C: _You were right. They want me to go with them and the doctors won’t step in because apparently presenting makes me incapable of making my own decisions._

Tyler closed his eyes and sighed, starting to type out a response when Craig sent another text.

C: _I mean, mom fucking said that her friend has an alpha daughter that I would get along with! Can you fucking believe that!?_

Tyler sent a text after he read Craig’s most recent text.

T: _Soooooo, now what_

It took a second for Craig to respond.

C: _I don’t know, I’ll be discharged soon and then they’ll bring me to the base so I can pack…_  
C: _We only have a couple hours Ty, meet me in the apartment._

Tyler was incredibly confused as to why Craig wanted to meet him at the apartment, but his heart was aching. It sounded like Craig was just gonna go along with it and the next couple hours were going to be all he’d have to say goodbye.

\---

The wait was torturous for Tyler.

He didn’t know how they’d spend the next couple hours, but it was hurting Tyler’s head just thinking about it. What are they supposed to do in the couple hours they’ll be given? How is he supposed to say goodbye?

The door finally opened and Tyler closed his eyes briefly and sighed, preparing himself for a difficult couple hours. He’s bracing himself for the worst.

What he doesn’t expect is to be punched in the face by the omega scent that he had learned to hate over the last month, but made his mouth water now. It was more intense than it had been before though, so strong it was almost a different scent entirely but Tyler could immediately tell what was happening.

Craig was going into heat.

“Craig…” The omega shyly smiled at Tyler.

“Hi,” he said, the door closing behind him before he leaned against it. Tyler couldn’t figure out what was happening anymore. One moment he’s braced for the worst and now…

He could practically hear the increased heartbeat, strong and steady, see the drops of sweat beading on his forehead, could almost feel the heat radiating off of Craig. He’d never been with an omega in heat so he didn’t know what was alpha instinct and what was because it was just Craig.

“What’s going on?” Craig shot him a look.

“I’m sure you can already tell,” he said, “The doctor said my heat would start soon, and I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t be long before it hit.” Tyler swallowed.

“Why-?” His question was cut off by the omega before him rushing towards him and connecting their lips. When Craig was a beta, kissing him was amazing, but the intensity behind this one, the fact that he was in heat… it was driving Tyler mad. He groaned into the kiss, before pushing the omega away slightly. He could feel his control slipping, so close to his boyfriend… unmated… in heat…

“What’re you doing?” Tyler asked. Craig took a deep breath in.

“I’ve thought about it,” he said, “We’ve been together for more than two years, known each other longer… I can’t imagine myself with anyone but you.” The omega’s hands moved up from their place on Tyler’s shoulders to cup his face. His palms were almost too hot for Tyler to handle, “I love you, so much. I want to bond.”

Those words were all it took to break Tyler’s control, the alpha growling and kissing Craig roughly and the new omega whimpering in response. The sound only spurred Tyler on to pick Craig up, supporting his weight as the omega wrapped his arms around Tyler’s neck, and walk towards their bedroom. Tyler kicked the door open and Craig laughed when the door banged loudly against the wall.

Tyler let Craig’s feet touch the floor and watched as the omega… his omega… walked over to the bed. He could practically feel Craig’s nervousness permeating the room and he walked over to Craig, who had just sat down on the bed, and hooked a finger under his chin and lifted the omega’s gaze so their eyes could meet.

“I need to ask,” Tyler said, knowing he couldn’t go through with this if he didn’t, “You’re absolutely sure about this?” Craig nodded quickly.

“I’ve honestly never been more sure of anything in my life,” he said, “Just… you know, a whole new first time…” Tyler nodded, understanding exactly what Craig meant.

“You know how this works, right?” he asked, “Did they teach betas anything about bonding?” Craig shrugged.

“I mean… the basics,” he said, “Knotting and biting while the omega’s in heat.” Tyler nodded and Craig grimaced, “Is it… is it gonna hurt?” Tyler shook his head.

“If it’s done properly, and I’m going to make sure it is for us, it won’t hurt a bit,” he promised, pressing a kiss to Craig’s forehead, “I’m going to grab the water from the closet quick, okay?” Craig nodded and Tyler stepped back and turned around, heading for the closet where they kept a case of water for when Tyler’s rut hit. Looks like they’d need to add another to the stock now that Craig was an omega.

He picked the case of water up and set it outside the closet, against the wall, before closing the door and looking back towards the bed. In the short time Tyler hadn’t been paying attention, it seemed that Craig had grown more comfortable with what was happening, his clothes thrown to the floor, eyes closed, hand slowly stroking his cock. Tyler growled at the sight and Craig’s eyes opened, pupils already blown, and Tyler could tell that his heat was intensifying.

Letting out another deep growl, Tyler stalked towards the bed, shedding his own clothes on the way. Their lips connected and Tyler began coaxing the omega further up onto the bed. Once Craig was comfortably laid down on the bed, Tyler sat back on his haunches between the omega’s spread legs. Tyler hoped that this part would ease Craig’s nervousness all that bit more, as it wasn’t much different from their sex before. He moved so that he was hovering over Craig, kissing the omega’s lips and trailing teasing bites down his neck, relishing in the beautiful whimpers Craig let out. As he moved back up the connect their lips, he reached down to circle Craig’s rim, the omega letting out soft mewls at the touch. Tyler nipped at the omega’s bottom lip as he slid in one finger.

Tyler worked Craig open until he could feel the omega begin to relax, letting his new biology take over. Tyler smiled into their kiss before breaking it and pulling out his fingers, the omega pouting at the loss of contact.

“Ty…” Craig whined and Tyler just rolled his eyes.

“Don’t even start,” Tyler said, “You know we’re not fucking done.” Craig just continued pouting but he swallowed at the reminder, and Tyler frowned at that, “Hey, I’ll take good care of you,” he said, resting one of his hands on Craig’s hip, rubbing circles into the skin, “You know that, right?” Craig nodded, “Good, you don’t need me to talk you through the process, do you?” Tyler teased and Craig scoffed and softly kicked at Tyler.

“Fucking- no!” Craig said, blushing and Tyler laughed.

“Okay then,” he said.

With a shiver, Craig’s eyes closed and he whimpered.

“Ty…” he gasped, “Ty, please…” Given the quick change, Tyler knew that they couldn’t keep bantering, Craig’s heat was settling in and he wasn’t about to let his soon to be bondmate suffer. He lifted Craig’s hips and the omega hooked his legs around the alpha’s back. Tyler kept one hand on Craig’s hip while the other took hold of his cock to line it up. He slowly pushed in, watching Craig’s face carefully to make sure he was okay. Of course, he didn’t have much to worry about as Craig’s heat was making him crave this exact feeling. The omega gasped out as Tyler continued to go agonizingly slow until he bottomed out, pausing for a second before beginning to thrust. Craig’s mewls with each thrust were music to Tyler’s ears as they found their rhythm, pace building as desperation and pheromones took their minds over.

Craig was overwhelmed in the best way, the intensity of sex while in heat was incredible. His instincts still screamed for a knot but he was content to enjoy the feeling for now.

It didn’t take long for either of them. Tyler’s knot growing with each thrust, shallower and shallower as it grew, rubbing oh so beautifully against Craig’s prostate, milking him to orgasm. Craig’s vision whited out for a second and he expected the relief to set in, but started to get anxious when it didn’t, he just… needed more. He let out a whine on instinct and Tyler shushed him, shifting the two of them so that he was leaning over the omega, kissing along his neck.

“S’okay babe,” he grunted, against the omega’s heated skin, “You’ll get a knot soon.” Sure enough, Tyler’s knot popped after a couple more thrusts and the alpha bit down at the crook of Craig’s neck.

Both of them saw stars as a connection formed, vines of emotions tangled and twisted together, every fiber of their being aware of the other in every way possible, the connection intertwining into a beautiful bond that tied their souls together.

Craig shivered as his body finally felt relief, his instincts satiated by the knot locking him and his alpha together. Tyler kept his teeth right where they were as he experienced what he could only describe as heaven. He’d never experienced knotting an omega and knotting Craig was something he’d only dreamt of. They took their time to calm down, letting their visions clear as Tyler pumped wave after wave of come into Craig.

Finally, Tyler relaxed his jaw and let go of the skin of Craig’s neck, lifting his head to examine the bite. It was deep just as a mating mark should be, red, bloody, and kinda ugly at the moment, but Tyler’s heart skipped a beat when he looked at it and he smiled softly, pressing kisses around the area. Craig sighed at the feeling of his alpha’s kisses pressed to his throat, even slightly alleviating the dull throb of the bite on his neck. He opened his eyes when the kisses stopped, looking up into the sky blue eyes he adored and he sighed again, completely content.

The moment was broken however when Craig glanced over at their alarm clock, seeing that they had half an hour before his parents were expecting him to come down with bags packed. He smiled smugly, happy, knowing that they couldn’t do a damn thing now, and Tyler smiled and kissed his omega, feeling his happiness and the reason behind it through their fresh bond.

“So,” Craig said quietly, “How long are we gonna be stuck like this?” To emphasize his point he clenched around Tyler’s knot and the alpha groaned.

“Fuck,” he swore, “You little fucking shit...” Craig just laughed.

“Seriously, how long?” Tyler paused a moment.

“Maybe another ten minutes?” Tyler said. Craig nodded before reaching up to pull Tyler down to kiss him. He was perfectly content to spend the next ten minutes like this.

\---

Once Tyler’s knot went down and they were able to leave the bed, Tyler took Craig to their en-suite to treat the bite, knowing that it was important to take care of a fresh mating bite. Once the bite was cleaned and covered by gauze (and fuck, Tyler’s inner alpha was fucking pissed about having it covered. He wanted every damn alpha to know that Craig was his fucking dammit) they got dressed and left their bedroom, knowing they’d have to leave the apartment to face Craig’s parents. They needed to figure out what to do though, as Craig was still in heat and Tyler’s inner alpha was very possessive of his new mate.

“Maybe Jonathan will have some scent neutralizing spray I could use?” Craig asked. Tyler nodded, happy with that plan.

“That should work,” he said before reaching out to keep Craig seated as the omega started to stand, “If you think I’m going to let you out of the apartment when you smell like heat…” Craig sighed but nodded.

“I suppose I’m gonna have to get used to having a little bit less independence…” the omega said and Tyler frowned at that.

“You’re not gonna- I won’t-” Tyler sighed, running a hand over his face. Craig definitely had some of the same views on omegas as his parents had, just not as extreme, “That’s a discussion for later.” He left the apartment and locked the door behind him before heading down the stairs in search for Jonathan. He’d gone down two levels before literally running into Brian.

“Oh, sorry dude,” Brian said before blinking, looking over Tyler’s disheveled appearance, then smirked, “Craig’s back, eh?” Tyler growled at him and Brian held his hands up, “Okay, okay, backing off…” He walked around Tyler, still holding his hands up before continuing down the hallway. Tyler watched him go before sighing.

“Wait, Brian?” The alpha turned around at hearing his name called and walked over when Tyler motioned for him to come back, “Can you do me a favor?” Brian nodded.

“Uh, sure, why?” Tyler sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

“Craig’s in heat,” he said, “And he has to meet his parents in about,” he glanced down at Brian’s watch, “fifteen minutes.” Brian nodded.

“You need some neutralizer?” Tyler nodded, and Brian clapped him on the back, “No problem, I’ll be right back.” Tyler leaned against the wall as Brian jogged down the stairs. He wasn’t left waiting there long, because about five minutes later Brian was back with an aerosol can of neutralizer.

“Thanks man,” Tyler said, taking the can from Brian, immediately jogging back up the stairs.

“No problem!” Brian called from behind him.

Tyler reached the apartment door and unlocked it, tossing the neutralizer to Craig as soon as he closed the door. Craig quickly glanced over the directions on the can before working on masking his scent.

It took most of the can, but Tyler was finally satisfied that the scent of heat was mostly covered up. It wasn’t perfect, but at least Craig’s scent didn’t scream “I’M IN HEAT COME FUCK ME”. Craig took Tyler’s hand and they left the apartment, determined to get this shit show over with.

The two turned heads as they walked through the lounge, earning applause and wolf whistles when the others noticed the bandage on Craig’s neck. The omega turned bright red and Tyler smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him into his side. In the lobby, Craig’s parents were sitting on a couch on the far wall. Evan was pacing around the room while on the opposite side from the two betas, Jonathan and Smitty were working on burning holes in their foreheads with death glares. The five of them looked towards the steps at the sound of the approaching couple and everyone found the covered mating mark at different times.

Evan smiled when he saw it and relaxed his position, Jonathan gasped and smiled brightly, practically jumping up from his spot on the floor, Smitty smiled at the both of them, and then…

“How dare you!” Craig’s dad yelled, causing a few of them to flinch. The beta stood up from the couch and stomped towards them, “How dare you take advantage of our son!” he yelled, poking Tyler’s chest as he got up in the alpha’s face, “How dare you go against our wishes!” He turned on Craig but Tyler growled at him, stepping between the two.

“You need to back the fuck off!” Tyler yelled, finally able to rip into the beta, “Craig made the decision on his own, before his heat set in, and you need to fucking respect that.” He glared down at the beta, “I highly suggest you change your view on omegas because you two are stuck in the fucking 1920’s and need to catch up with reality.” Tyler glanced between the two betas, “Now, leave and go fuck yourselves.”

“You’re a fucking knothead!” Craig’s dad yelled before bringing his arm back, ready to throw a punch, when his wrist was grabbed. He turned around and found Smitty glaring at him. The beta was about to scream in Smitty’s face when Evan walked over to them.

“You no longer have any power over Craig,” he said, having slipped into gang boss mode, ready to defend his crew, “He’s happily bonded. Now, as the owner of this building, you are no longer welcome here, get the fuck off my property.”

Face red, the beta looked between the two pissed off alphas and the beta still holding his wrist before huffing and yanking his arm away from Smitty. He motioned for his wife to follow him and the other beta stood up from the couch as Craig’s father stormed out of the building. Craig’s mother walked calmly towards the doors, reaching out for the door handle before turning back to the group and addressing Craig.

“I’m disappointed in you, Craig,” she said. Craig stepped out from behind Tyler.

“I’m only doing what’s best for myself.” Craig’s mom pursed her lips at her son’s answer.

“Never come home,” she said, “We don’t want to see or hear from you ever again.”

And with that, she left the building.

Tyler could already feel the hurt building in Craig and he wrapped his arms around his omega from behind.

“I’m sorry about your parents, babe,” he said and Craig took a shaky breath in.

“It- it’s for the best, right?” Jonathan walked over to them and hugged Craig.

“It is,” he said, knowing first hand what it felt like to lose parents due to shitty circumstances, “I’m sorry that happened Mini, but if you ever need to talk about it, let me know.” Jonathan dropped his arms and gave Craig a sad smile before following Evan up to the lounge. Craig’s eyes began to water and Tyler was ready to lead him upstairs.

“Let’s head back to the apartment, okay?” Craig nodded before looking up at the last person left in the room, Smitty.

“We’ll hang out after your heat’s finished, yeah?” Craig nodded at Smitty’s suggestion and the beta walked up to the couple. Smitty ruffled Craig’s hair, lightly punched Tyler’s arm, and walked up to the lounge. Tyler followed him, guiding Craig up the stairs. It was disorienting, feeling the omega’s emotions so strongly and he was in no mood for any bullshit, ready to growl at anyone who wanted to talk to them. There was no need however…

“I’m ordering pizza, who wants what toppings?” Smitty called out to the room in general, “If any of you order just cheese I’m gonna kick you in the balls…!” Tyler smiled at Smitty’s distraction as he and Craig were able to continue up the stairs unbothered.

It would be a long process for both of them. Tyler had it easy, only needing to adjust to the new bond. Craig had that, plus a new secondary gender, and parents who practically disowned him.

Neither of them had any doubt that they’d get through to the other end of the bullshit.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I'm missing tags but like always, if you think of one that I'm missing, please let me know!
> 
> Also, I know that Craig's parents aren't like this/would never do anything like this. I mean nothing against them by portraying them like this in this series.
> 
> I have a feeling that smut was super cheesy so if it was I'll try working on making any smut in future fics less... that.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading!


End file.
